Idioms in Biblical Hebrew : towards their identification and classification with special reference to 1 and 2 Samuel

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to identify and classify idioms in the Hebrew Bible. Based on a surveyof literature on idioms in general, and in Biblical Hebrew in particular, the necessaryconditions for idiomaticity are identified as (1) multi-word character, (2) semantic noncompositionality,(3) unit status, (4) conventionalisation, (5) a verbal nucleus, and(6) a content message. Restricted variability and uniqueness may also be indicative ofidiomaticity, although these are not regarded as necessary conditions. Accordingly,idiom is defined as a conventionalised multi-word symbolic unit with a verbal nucleusand a content message, whose global meaning is a semantic extension of the combinedmeanings of its constituent elements.These criteria were applied to 1 and 2 Samuel, and 104 idioms were identified. Theresults suggest that the proposed definition is an effective aid to identifying idioms,with certain caveats. In line with Granger and Paquot's phraseological classification,the multi-word character of idioms is interpreted to imply a verb plus at least onemore semantic (as opposed to grammatical) element. Semantic compositionality isshown to be a complex concept that should be understood as the overall meaning ofan expression being an extension of the combined meanings of its individual lexicalconstituents. Conventionalisation and unit status prove to be virtually impossible todetermine with certainty for expressions in the Hebrew Bible. Researchers should alsobe aware that there is an inevitable degree of subjectivity involved in the applicationand interpretation of the idiom characteristics proposed in this study.A preliminary semantic classification of the idioms found in 1 and 2 Samuel isproposed, based on the lexicographical system developed by De Blois (2000) for theSemantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew. The results of this study suggest that, withsome improvements and adjustments, De Blois's framework is suitable for classifyingand representing Biblical Hebrew idioms. The greatest obstacle in using this system isshown to be the counterintuitive names of a number of categories. A completealphabetical list of idioms from 1 and 2 Samuel is provided in Appendix A, togetherwith the relevant semantic information for each. A classification of these idiomsaccording to lexical semantic domains is presented and discussed in Chapter 5, whilealternative ways of arranging them (viz. by contextual semantic domains, underlyingconceptual metaphors, and terms for body parts) are provided in Appendices B to D.This study demonstrates that idioms are semantically motivated (by conceptualmetaphor, metonymy, symbolic acts, etc.) although their meaning is semantically noncompositional.It also indicates the need for a more systematic treatment of idioms inBiblical Hebrew lexicons.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University